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NEETaku Rants: This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, Anime Fans!!!

Back in the day, the only heat Anime Fan A would get for watching anime was from people outside of the fandom that didn’t understand his interest in the medium. Nowadays, the majority of the heat Anime Fan A gets watching comes from Anime Fans B-Z because he doesn’t blindly worship the show they like!!

Yup…it’s one of those types of rants, folks. Better pull up a chair for this one.

Yesterday on Facebook I saw a post about Shimizu from Haikyuu and proceeded to write the following criticism:

” Thank you for objectifying another female character, Haikyuu. The first thing we see when she gets on-screen is her butt and chest.”

Could it have been constructed better? Yes. I’ll admit that. Regardless, it was immediately responded to by the type of vile that can only be spewed out by anime fans nowadays. Here are some of the highlights:

“Have you even watched anime?”

“White knighting a cartoon … jesus, it’s too late to save someone this far over the edge.”

“So don’t watch it if you get triggered.”

And my personal favorite:

“The problem is that your comment sounds like Haikyu is unique in its female objectification. While 80%+ of all anime is doing this. You can voice you complaint, but complain about anime, not Haikyu– else you seem like someone who doesn’t understand or watch anime.”

Again, maybe I could’ve worded the comment better, but my point still remains: People go nutzo if you make a negative comment about their favorite anime!!

Look, I’m not saying that everyone got along all the time back when I was younger. I’ve had some heated discussions about anime and other stuff back then as well. Still, there just seems to have been a sudden uprising in the mindset of ” If you don’t like what I like, then you’re a troll whose opinion doesn’t matter”. This is especially true about anime fans. We, for some reason, have become almost scarily overprotective of our fave shows to the point of basically wanting to murder anymore who dislikes them. There can no longer be constructive, open dialogue anymore because we’ve all been conditioned to get “triggered” when someone has a differing opinion. And that’s just…wrong…

Human beings are by their very nature different from one another. Even identical twins have minds of their own, Even if two people like the same show, I can guarantee they like it for different reasons. With the advent of the Internet and social media, one would have thought be able to access different anime/fanbases would’ve helped to bring us together. Instead, we have become more argumentative and easily angered.

Listen, there’s nothing wrong with disagreeing about an anime show. Nothing at all. It’s what makes us human beings. If you don’t like what I like, that’s perfectly fine!! That doesn’t mean I can’t hear you out and vice versa. Maybe there is something I can learn from your point of view that I haven’t thought about before. The exchanging of ideas/opinions is how some of the greatest inventions of all time have come about! Imagine what the world would be like if everyone whose opinion differed from the popular one was cast out like lepers. It’d be a pretty bleak one if you ask me.

Anime fans…put down the torches & pitchforks. Me not liking what you like doesn’t make me a troll or SJW. It makes me a human being. Just…Like..You. Anyways, that’s Just…My 2 Cents.

Alas, all too true, and not just with anime. It’s anime, live-actions television shows, movies, Marvel vs. DC, sports and sport teams, political parties… it’s like we’ve all been trained to flip out at the least sign of dissension or deviation in anything, anywhere, at anytime.

To be fair, when it comes to objectifying females Haikyuu is pretty tame compared to other anime. Heck I know a few girls who enjoy the show because they get to ogle the hot guys. Both genders are catered to so it’s fair. With that in mind I can understand why you would trigger a backlash for bashing the show on those grounds.

Right now the internet is very sensitive when it comes to feminist viewpoints. Both sides feel very strongly about their opinions so it’s tough to find a middle ground. As a video game fan who has seen games get censored or not get localized out of fears that eye candy will result in bad press I can sympathize why people get so hostile.

Ultimately the tide has turned. People got fed up being preached to that admiring members of the opposite sex is wicked. That was a factor in Trump getting so much support with his anti-politically correct mantra.

I get that Haikyuu is tame compared to other shows. I also get that shows like FREE! exist that exploits males in the same manner as female chars in other shows.

What bothered me about all those comments is that none would even acknowledge the fact that Shimizu, regardless of her development she gets later, was served to like a piece of meat in the very beginning. They basically acted as if the scene never happened, which was just mind boggling. XD